I confess I could not much distinguish the latest Avengers sequel from the kajillion trailers for other Marvel attractions that preceded it. As a feel-good experience it failed for me, because what mostly struck me was how old Tom Cruise and George Clooney look in their respective forthcoming flicks, and I never really got over that. Plus, I recognized, but could not place, the voice of the villain, and that was a major distraction for me through the whole film. (Figured it out, but won't give it away.)I'm not sure enough punches were thrown. The Avengers (does this really count as a spoiler?) fight bad guys and then each other and then hordes and hordes of more bad guys, such that there are virtually no punch-free frames. And still, I walked out of the theater thinking I was maybe 10-15 punches shy of getting my money's worth.More seriously, it's okay for what it is. I find the franchise wears. I still basically like the characters and I appreciate the patriotism and overall wholesomeness (though a couple of swear words and sexual innuendos creep into this one, parents of little ones), but there is still nothing at stake, as a commenter said of a previous installment:

Nothing is really at stake. None of the heroes can die, so they are not really risking anything. I understand they’re all theoretically mortal, but within the movie’s context they’re indestructible and therefore, in the end, boring. (Though the movie was fun while it lasted.)”.

This is the most quasi-religious of the installments, w/ a cameo appearance from Pope Francis and

an Arvo Pärt "Kyrie" in the background of the climactic scene. I will let Eldest Weed say more about that below.

In the time-honored tradition, here's what the kids had to say.

Youngest Weed, 11: It was fun, but there's not much plot. Middle Weed, 14. I give it a B+. I really liked it. Girl Weed, 16: If you're asking me about the script and the story line? Low B. But I really enjoyed it nonetheless. Except for their (spoiler alert!) killing off my favorite character.

It is hard to explain why he says this without giving away the plot, but I agree with him. Suffice it to say that the Progressive version of Science does not fare well here, and there is a quasi-religious battle between the villain, who consciously blasphemes about the rock on which his evolved church will be built and hopes to bring peace to the world by ending man; and another character who takes on human form and defends life. There is also an interesting scene in which we learn that one of the dehumanizing things the Soviets did to Black Widow was render her sterile, an action she regards as tragic and deeply disfiguring. These themes are sort of interesting to see in Hollywood, but it would be overstating things to suggest they're given any truly coherent treatment -- it's just a fun Avengers movie, with heavy emphasis on punching, not philosophy. (Joss Whedon perhaps also tips his hand as a racist, since the word "thug" plays a large role early on in the movie. In case you missed the latest PC story, I'm not serious. I'm making fun of recent efforts to claim that "thug" refers only to black people -- I think the movie gives the lie to that claim). Anyway, our verdict: fun, but there is diminishing return on investment in this franchise. Well, 5 of 6 of us say that. Mr. W. says it managed to be both deafening (soundtrack) and un-hearable (dialogue) and was a two-dimensional waste of time. But he would have liked it with a Wagner soundtrack, I promise.